BASF Monomers division announces sustainability roadmap and expands portfolio of climate-friendly products

BASF’s Monomers division has announced an ambitious sustainability roadmap: It will expand its portfolio of products with a lower CO2 footprint and is committed to providing a circular option in every major product line by 2025, said the company.

At the same time, the division will continue to prioritize technical optimization measures to cut CO2 emissions from operations. “As a commodity business at the heart of chemical production, we have the potential to significantly drive the sustainable transformation of both BASF and the various customer industries we serve,” said Dr. Ramkumar Dhruva, President, Monomers division at BASF. The Monomers division supplies key industries from food packaging, textiles, automotive or construction to wood binders and many others with base chemicals. The new divisional sustainability roadmap is an essential part of BASF’s journey towards climate neutrality and net zero CO2 emissions by 2050.

“We understand sustainability as the decisive factor for future business success and are committed to providing our customers with the right solutions to help them reach their individual sustainability goals,” said Dhruva.

Net zero greenhouse gas emission targets demand a new level of carbon transparency. The product carbon footprint (PCF) is therefore becoming a differentiating factor, even for commoditized products. BASF’s Monomers division is pioneering a certified low-PCF option in all of its product lines by applying the company’s mass balance approach. Examples are Lupranat® ZERO, an MDI made from biobased raw materials that has a PCF of zero, and Ultramid® Ccycled™, an innovative material for the textile industry for which chemically recycled feedstock from end-of-life tires is used in production and attributed via a certified mass balance approach. The division has major sites and more than 200 products already RedCert2 or ISCC+ certified today. It aims to have additional sites certified in all regions by the end of 2023 and will continue to expand its portfolio of certified mass balanced products for its customers worldwide.

We remind, BASF has broken ground on the third and final phase of the methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) expansion project at its Verbund site in Geismar, Louisiana, announced in July 2022. The company will increase production capacity to approximately 600,000 metric tons per year by the middle of the decade to support the ongoing growth of its North American MDI customers.

BASF is a leading supplier, manufacturer, and innovation partner of plastic additives. Its comprehensive and innovative product portfolio includes additives that provide ease in processing, and heat and light resistance to a variety of polymers and applications including molded articles, films, fibers, sheets, and extruded profiles.

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Henkel and Shell Chemical LP have agreed to a five-year collaboration to replace up to 200,000 tonnes of fossil feedstocks used in the manufacture of surfactants with feedstocks that are based on renewable raw materials, said the company.

The renewable-based surfactants will be used in Henkel’s laundry product brands, including many varieties of Persil®, Purex® and all® brands. Surfactants are an ingredient in cleaning products that help lather and lift dirt.

“This landmark cooperation significantly advances Henkel’s share of renewable-based ingredients in leading consumer brands in North America,” said Ulrike Sapiro, Chief Sustainability Officer at Henkel. “This is an important, concrete step toward realizing our vision of a regenerative planet through a climate-friendly business model. Working together with partners like Shell will help get us there faster."

Shell estimates that replacing up to 200,000 tonnes of fossil feedstocks with renewable feedstocks has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 120,000 tonnes of CO2e over the length of the five-year agreement.

We remind, Uniper and Shell have awarded contracts for the design studies of the main hydrogen production and carbon capture plant for the proposed Humber H2ub project. The project aims to produce low-carbon hydrogen using gas reformation with carbon capture technology at Uniper’s Killingholme power station site on the South Humber bank in the UK.

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Toray Industries, Inc., announced that it has developed a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film that combines excellent applicability and adhesion for water-based and solvent-free coatings and can eliminate solvent-derived carbon-dioxide emissions, said the company.

The company looks to produce the film at a domestic plant by end-March 2024 to help popularize eco-friendly film products for which decarbonization during manufacturing is desirable. These items include release, adhesive, printing, packaging, and automotive films.

The environmental impacts of organic solvents in regular PET film processing have become problematic in view of global warming becoming a prime issue in recent years as a result of air pollution and carbon dioxide emissions.

This situation has driven the development of coatings free of such volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as toluene, xylene, and ethyl acetate. Such coatings eliminate carbon dioxide emissions derived from solvents. Advances include coatings in which water replaces these compounds in mold release agents, adhesives, and printing inks, as well as solvent-free versions employing monomers to dilute ingredients. Still, VOC-free coatings have downsides. They include appearance defects such as peeling when applied on PET films. Other issues are poor adhesion between coated layers and PET films after drying, resulting in lifting and peeling that reduces durability.

Toray’s new PET film has both good applicability for water-based paints and good adhesion to films after it is dried. This was achieved by forming an ultra-thin layer with nanosized dispersion of hydrophilic components with high affinity to water and hydrophobic components with high affinity to the resin on the surface of the film.

This film has demonstrated outstanding applicability and adhesion for an array of water-based offerings from paint manufacturers. Coating and adhesion is also excellent with solvent-free coatings, which are also VOC-free.

PET film processing generally emits carbon dioxide from coating and drying printing inks, release agents, and adhesives, as well as from consuming electricity in curing, releasing organic solvents into the atmosphere through incineration, and disposing of solvent effluents and waste. The film makes it possible to use VOC-free paints and thus eliminate the carbon dioxide emissions associated with organic solvents.

We remind, Toray Industries' offshoots Toray Advanced Materials Korea and Toray Textiles Central Europe have built new sites in the Czech Republic to boost the Airlite automotive interior sound acoustic insulation operation in the European region. It has a manufacturing capacity of 1200 tonnes/y. Another offshoot, Toray Carbon Fibers Europe, will spend EUR 100 M to install a new manufacturing line at its facility in South West France.

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INEOS Enterprises has today signed an agreement to acquire MBCC Group’s Admixture Business from Sika AG, said the company.

The admixture business is a leading producer of concrete additives essential for the construction industry, with well invested operations across 35 manufacturing sites and sales of around USD1 billion.

The business employs more than 1600 people, which produce and supply a broad chemicals portfolio for concrete manufacturing and underground construction, across the US, Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

The deal which is part of a required remedy process for Sika to acquire the MBCC Group, is subject to regulatory approvals and is targeted to complete in the first half of this year.

The deal will maintain the level of innovation, services and quality in chemical admixtures available to concrete producers.

Thomas Hasler, CEO of Sika: “The agreement with INEOS Enterprises marks a key milestone in Sika’s acquisition of MBCC Group. I am convinced that we have found a long-term home for the MBCC Group’s Admixture business. The perfect new owner who will further develop the business together with a talented and driven MBCC Group team. At the same time, Sika has taken a tremendous leap forward on its path to joining forces with MBCC Group and together we will strengthen our growth platform further.”

We remind, INEOS and SINOPEC have completed two of the four significant petrochemical deals announced earlier this year. The two deals are: SECCO joint venture. INEOS has acquired 50% of Shanghai SECCO Petrochemical Company Limited. ABS joint venture. INEOS and SINOPEC have also established a 50:50 joint venture for ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene), based on INEOS’ world leading proprietary ABS Technology.

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The ALPLA Group can look back on a successful financial year 2022 in spite of the crisis, said the company.

Sales of 5.1 billion euros exceeded the previous year’s figure by 27.5 per cent. In addition to the company’s growth strategy, the record turnover reflects the significantly higher costs for energy, materials, staff and transport. In 2023, the packaging and recycling specialist will focus on expanding its injection moulding capacities, investing in recycling, expanding its Pharma division and researching alternative materials.

ALPLA continued its international growth trajectory in 2022, expanding production capacities, increasing staff numbers and posting sales growth of 27.5 per cent. The international specialist for packaging solutions and recycling therefore achieved a positive annual result despite massive increases in energy prices and a shortage of raw materials. Newly opened sites, acquisitions and expansions resulted in more than 1,000 additional employees. The number of plants increased from 177 to 190.

‘The packaging industry will be dealing with high costs, changes in demand and changing consumer behaviour for a long time to come. We use efficiency, innovation and recycling expertise to realise safe, affordable and sustainable plastic solutions in times of crisis too,’ emphasises ALPLA CEO Philipp Lehner. In addition to targeted acquisitions, the key factors contributing to the success were close and long-standing partnerships, strong regional roots and the expedited expansion of recycling capacities.

The long-term aim is for the company to grow by four to five per cent annually. In addition to capacity expansions in its core business, ALPLA is also planning strategic investments in injection moulding, increased involvement in the pharmaceutical sector and the expansion of the global circular economy. At the same time, there will be research into alternative, bio-based and biodegradable materials. ‘We are striving for long-term sustainable growth, strengthening our global presence, promoting recyclable products, minimising the use of resources and energy consumption, and expanding our portfolio,’ announces Lehner.

The focus is primarily on the growth markets of Africa, the Middle East, Asia and North America. In the area of recycling, ALPLA has been investing more than 50 million euros annually in capacity expansions and technology development since 2021. For there to be more packaging which is both recyclable and affordable, closed loops and sufficient materials are needed. ALPLA is therefore planning to double the annual production of recycled materials at its own plants by 2026 and is supporting the development and optimisation of local collection systems around the world.

We remind, the packaging and recycling specialist ALPLA has realised a carbon-optimised prototype solution as a showcase for future products with its innovative Canupak beauty care packaging. The ultralight packaging system with a bottle made entirely of recycled HDPE (rHDPE) underscores the company’s global sustainability strategy. ALPLA is therefore offering its customers further potential to reduce emissions as well as expertise for future developments.

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